When we started this campaign I was asked how many surfboards we'd like to collect. At the time I said 100 would make it a success, 200 would be great and 300 would be amazing.

Two weeks later there are more than 400 surfboards snugly packed to the rafters of a Newcastle garage and destined for a new life in Papua New Guinea.

The generosity has been inspirational.

In the coming months the boards will be packed into a truck, driven to Brisbane and loaded into a shipping container bound for Port Moresby, where they'll be assessed, fixed and distributed across the country's 10 small surf clubs.

It will be the largest number of surfboards to arrive in PNG. It could almost double the total number of boards that exist in the country.

Besides the splinters (wooden boards carved from the jungle) Papuan surfers have traditionally relied on travelling surfers to leave a surfboard behind. Previous donation drives netted 180 boards in 2008 and 140 last year. The contribution of 400 boards will have a huge impact.

Each club will receive dozens of boards which will be shared by club members- mainly children who pay a small annual fee for membership.

The better boards will be set aside for more accomplished surfers and for use during competitions. The rest will be on high rotation during the surfing months, getting passed from one child to the next.

One of the really positive results from this campaign is not just the sheer number of boards, but also the quality of them. We asked for the clunker in the shed, but didn't just get the rejects. Most boards are water-tight, in good condition, and modern designs. The kids will be shredding.

At a basic level it is the purest of gifts to share with someone, the gift of surfing. Just the simple joy of riding a wave, "the stoke", is a feeling that can greatly enrich anyone's life. In a small village where entertainment and toys are limited - it really is priceless.

Beyond that, it also offers these kids a connection with a global surfing movement that extends well beyond their isolated village.

They've poured over surfing mags, they know about Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson, they know about the world's surf spots from Tahiti to the Gold Coast, Brazil to Indonesia, they know it's cool, and they want in.

A young person in a village might have limited employment prospects, rely on subsistence agriculture and live in a basic home. But they also have access to mobile phones and Facebook.

To be exposed to what's out there in the world through the growth of technology, but then denied access to participate, can be far more isolating than any geographical distance.

Surfing helps bridge that gap. It is common ground with the rest of the world. It is empowering.

Further still, these surfboards are helping the president of the Surfing Association of Papua New Guinea (SAPNG) Andy Abel on his quest to use surfing as a tool of social and economic change.

The model he has established is focussed on sustainable surf tourism which feeds money to local landowners and surf clubs.

Every foreign surfer in PNG pays a daily fee to surf, which is paid on to traditional owners and the surf club kitty. A quota system ensures a cap on the number of surfers per break to prevent overdevelopment of the industry and overcrowding in the water.

On a social level, the clubs use surfboards as a "carrot" to increase school attendance and encourage better school results. They also offer a similar sense of community and social cohesion to that provided by our own surf clubs.

But it is the empowerment of women where Andy Abel is making big strides. Half of all the boards donated from this consignment will have the nose painted fluorescent pink and be for the exclusive use of women and girls.

That's not an easy thing to introduce into a male dominated society where domestic violence rates are high and a woman's place has traditionally been in the home. Andy reckons he was worried about getting a spear in the back when he launched the idea, and I believe him.

But he has persisted and now the rule is strictly enforced. By doing so Andy is sending a strong message that women have an equal opportunity to participate in the sport, something which will hopefully have some trickle-up effect into other areas of life.

There is no doubt that these SAPNG policies, combined with the charisma, determination and vision of Andy Abel has helped endear this cause to the people of the Hunter region.

An older surfer now "too fat" to surf gave away all his boards because he wanted to share the sport he loves. A lady who didn't have a surfboard bought $50 of surf wax to contribute. The guy who dropped off 50 new leg ropes after getting a redundancy payout. Jan from Newcastle who donated the mal she was given for Christmas in 1952, a valuable relic. The group of high school students that rallied 10 boards. There were many, many more stories.

We also connected surfboard donors with drivers across the Hunter. An 85-year-old woman from Hawksnest had three boards in the garage collecting dust but no way to get them to us; Pauline from Medowie brought them in for her. Similarly Len from Denman drove his board to Singleton to meet Steve from Patterson who brought it in.

Collection points were established in Singleton, Redhead and Sydney. People were eager to jump on board. This energy of goodwill culminated at last week's screening of the documentary Splinters and Q&A with Andy Abel. Two moments stand out for me.

During the film Andy and I talked outside. A man hurrying back to the cinema from a bathroom break stopped to shake Andy's hand and express his gratitude for sharing the message of female empowerment and condemning violence towards women. He was honest and heartfelt. Andy was deeply touched by it.

After the movie a young long-haired surfer with his hat backwards was waiting near us. The cinema had emptied at least half an hour earlier, but the boy had waited to meet Andy. He approached, shook hands, spoke a few quiet words to Andy before running back to his mates and tearing off down the street on his skateboard.

Later I asked Andy what he had said.

"He said he was inspired," Andy told me.

It was the perfect illustration of how such a donation scheme is not only valuable to PNG, but valuable to us.

The next step will be to follow the boards on their journey. Many will be used to start a new surfing club in the autonomous region of Bougainville, an area of PNG ravaged by civil war and cut-off from the world for decades.